Health visitors' lived experiences of the effects of service change on their professional identity

Abstract

A qualitative study was carried out to investigate how service changes actioned by one NHS Trust in England affected health visitors' professional identity. Twenty health visitors were interviewed over 22 months, commencing in 2018, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) combined with an art-based method. A comprehensive professional identity for health visitors was established, as discussed in a previous article ( Seaman, 2022 ). The effects of service changes as described by the study participants were then mapped onto the core dimensions of their perceived professional identity. This article charts these study findings and offers recommendations for health visitor managers, employers and policy makers. The psychological effects of service change will be discussed in a future article.